Japan's lovin' it

Today I was driving around with my wife, and we passed by a McDonald's. The drive-thru line was terribly long, with a line of cars stretching out onto the main street and taking up one of the two lanes. That was very funny to me.

One thing foreigners in Japan - especially Americans - hear about is how we eat so much fast food. Once at the high school I teach at, I started a class by asking the students, "Tell me, what American food do you know of?" The first three responses were Big Mac, french fries, and hamburgers.

It is ingrained in many Japanese brains that foreigners love to eat fast food. And they are not wrong; too many Americans ruin their health by eating fast food too much. But some people say it as if Americans are the only ones doing it. As I saw today, Japanese people love their fast food as much as Americans do.

Welcome to 2008!

I want to take time out to wish everyone who reads my blog a Happy New Year. Enjoy 2008! I will.